While the top of the chart didn’t see much movement this week, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some movers and shakers on the chart with their eyes on the Song Of The Summer prize. Flo Rida‘s latest jam, “Whistle,” jumped from #7 to #4 this week, and Cher Lloyd‘s girl power hit is gaining some serious momentum; it debuted at #11 on our weekly chart, propelled by strong sales in the iTunes Store and a rising spot on the Billboard 100 Chart.

When it came to our reader votes, though, the Directioners and Lovatics made their mark; One Direction‘s “That What Makes You Beautiful” lead all SOTS contenders, with Demi Lovato‘s “Give Your Heart A Break” coming in a close second. Your votes really do count, so keep those votes coming! Head over to SOTS.VH1.COM and vote for your favorite artist today.

That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t have some challengers, though! In addition to Carly Rae Jepsen’s summer smash, Flo Rida’s “Whistle” lept up three spots to #7 this week, and the aforementioned One Direction climbed from #17 all the way to #7 with their irresistable hit, “What Makes You Beautiful.” Who will be on top next week? Be sure to check back with us all week for updates, and don’t forget to vote for the Song Of The Summer over at sots.vh1.com! (Oh, and if you want to see how this week’s chart was formulated, check out our super detailed/nerdy chart below.)Read more…

Welcome to Week 2 of VH1’s Song Of The Summer Countdown, and boy oh boy, we’ve already got ourselves a huge upset in the making!

Propelled by a large number of user votes, Katy Perry‘s “Wide Awake” overtook the presumptive Song Of The Summer favorite, Carly Rae Jepsen‘s “Call Me Maybe,” as the frontrunner for this year’s crown. In fact, as you’ll see in the chart above, there was lots of movement from where we were sitting at this time last week; 15 of the 20 songs in our chart either moved up or down in the rankings, and three new songs — One Direction‘s “One Thing,” P!nk‘s “Blow Me (One Last Kiss)” and Carrie Underwood‘s “Good Girl”— entered the chart for the first time!

As a reminder, here’s how our Song Of The Summer countdown works.Read more…

Music is something that plays an integral part in our lives 365 days a year, but there is something about the summertime that makes music seem a bit more omnipresent than at other times of the years. For most of the year, music consumption is largely a solitary pursuit; it’s something you experience in your house and in your car, and for big city dwellers and gym enthusiasts, it generally exists between you, your iPhone, and your earbuds. However, when summer rolls around, all of a sudden MUSIC IS EVERYWHERE — You hear it at family barbeques in the park, rooftop parties with your friends, blaring from car windows as you walk down the street. And more often than not, you tend to hear the same songs playing in an endless loop, returning us to the days when music was more of a communal experience and not so niche.

Yes, that’s right, we added a new wrinkle to this year’s countdown. Simply visit sots.vh1.com (SOTS = Song Of The Summer, get it?) and cast YOUR vote for your favorite song on either Twitter or Facebook (or both, if that’s how you roll). Do you love some Carly Rae Jepsen? Vote for her! Do you Directioners feel like One Direction‘s “One Thing” or “What Makes You Beautiful” should be higher on the chart? Vote for them! Are you a die-hard Yeezy fan and think that this summer is all about “Mercy”? Then you should definitely vote for it! Don’t see your favorite song on the list? Hit us up on our @vh1music Twitter feed and, if we see enough volume, we’ll add it to our list of over 50 songs that you can vote on.

GARY OLDMAN GIVES A DRAMATIC READING OF R. KELLY‘S MEMOIR, SOULACOSTER
Pile all the Oscars over here and the Pulitzers over there, so that we can divvy them out accordingly for this award worthy rendering of an award worthy text. [Gawker]

COURTNEY LOVE, HORRIBLE BOSS: “EVIL” EDITION
The Hole frontwoman’s former assistant has pressed charges, alleging that Love was an “improper and evil” boss. Which actually kind of sounds like a kind of awesome title to hold, don’t you think? [E!]

For each and every show that airs on VH1, a team of music supervisors here at the network have spent countless hours determining exactly what pieces of music best complement the footage that we have shot. This team —the CMI (Creative Music Integration) group— listen to thousands of songs each month in an attempt to figure out how best to utilize musical cues to reinforce the emotion and drama on shows like Mob Wives and Basketball Wives, so we thought it would be a cool idea to give you an inside glimpse into their world.

Each month, we’ll put together a list of all the songs that have been featured on the programs and promos that you see on VH1, which will be accompanied by two things: Specific commentary from the music supervisor as to why they selected a particular song for a particular scene in a show, as well as a Spotify playlist for you to sample these songs. Without further ado, here are all the songs that we featured on VH1 during the month of February!

Carmen Liana’s “Who I Am” in Black History Month Promo“When the promos department approached us for ideas on a song to be used in several Black History Month promos, Carmen Liana’s ‘Who I Am’ immediately came to mind. It’s a driving track with a touch of attitude in the hook that catches your attention. Lyrically, the theme of the song, which celebrates embracing your identity, ties in nicely with Black History Month.“—Lacey, VH1/CMI Department Assistant

The inspire us, they challenge us, they turn us on — last night we kicked off the first installment of our “100 Greatest Women in Music” list, covering #100 (Pussycat Dolls) through #81 (the Spice Girls). (You can see the full list here to find out what’s in store as we count down to number one). If you missed the first installment of the show, you can check out the preview video above —it’s scored to Ellie Goulding’s phenomenal “Starry Eyed”— but we warn you; it’s a pretty tantalizing montage of some of your favorite women in music history, and will probably make you hot, bothered, and impatient for the next installment. Which, not so coincidentally, airs tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT and counts down from #80 (Sara Bareilles) to #61 (Shirley Manson from Garbage).

Don’t forget to watch the100 Greatest Women In Musicspecial, brought to you by Summer’s Eve, on VH1 each night this week at 10 p.m. ET/PT. #80-61 will air tonight, Tuesday, 2/14; #60-41 will air on Wednesday, 2/15; #40-21 will air on Thursday, 2/16; #20-#1 will air on Friday, 2/17.

Ellie Goulding‘s new video for “Lights” is flashy, but it’s more brilliant than it is blinding. Featuring a glowing Goulding singing the dance-led track back lit by a glorious halo of clean light, the song has club anthem written all over it. Goulding begins playing the tambourine, and transitions to drums as the video picks up its pace. There are some great moments where Goulding is frozen in time, in a 360 degree view, surrounded by neon illustrations. If Goulding’s hair shaking and drum bashing while neon laser beams flash around her doesn’t get you dancing, then it’s probable that nothing will. Bright and fun, were thinking “Lights” is the perfect song to lead into spring toe tapping along with.

If you flipped over to VH1 anytime over the weekend, chances are you saw a commercial for our upcoming show, The 100 Greatest Women In Music. Beginning next Monday, February 13, we’ll be airing a one-hour special every night at 10 p.m. ET/PT honoring some of the most talented and influential female musicians of all-time. And we’ve gotten more than a few emails over the last few days asking what song is playing during that spot. Well, we’re happy to give you an answer: It’s Ellie Goulding‘s “Starry Eyed,” which is featured on her 2011 album, Lights.

Stay tuned to VH1 Tuner for more information on our upcoming special, The 100 Greatest Women In Music!

Giving a dynamic performance of “Something To Believe In,” Parachute shook the stage at The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. With a full band including grand piano and saxophones, not to mention a lineup of impressive back up singers, the performance was uplifting and inspirational. A little bit anthemic, “Something To Believe In” feels like a call to arms, a song that would find itself very comfortable in a cinematic landscape. The track is off their new album, The Way It Was.